# Ministry of Culture (Lithuania)

The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos kultūros ministerija) is a governmental body of the Republic of Lithuania. Its mission is to formulate and implement state cultural policies supporting professional and amateur art, theatre, music, fine arts, cinema, museums, libraries, and written publications, to guard copyright and copyright-related interests, and to protect cultural values.

## History

The Ministry of Culture was formally established on 8 June 1994, following the government's decision in 1993 to split it off from the Ministry of Culture and Education. Its first minister was Dainius Trinkūnas.

## Activities

The ministry awards prizes including Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts for achievements in the arts and culture, the Martynas Mažvydas Award for scholarly research, National Jonas Basanavičius Award for outstanding achievements related to ethnicity, also awards to young creators, librarians, translators, etc.
The Top Prize of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania is the honorary badge “Nešk Savo Šviesą Ir Tikėk”. It is an acknowledgment of many years of work in the field of culture and arts, of creativity and its promotion.
Prizes of the Ministry of Culture for the most significant international awards in the field of culture were launched in 2019. Among the first laureates are the group of opera Sun & Sea (Marina) creators Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė, and Lina Lapelytė together with curators Rasa Antanavičiūtė and Lucia Pietrouisti, as well as the group of the documentary Bridges of Time creators and operatic soprano Asmik Grigorian.

## Departments

The Department of Cultural Heritage is the department of the ministry responsible for protecting and documenting cultural property and maintaining historical preservation.

## Functions

The Ministry of Culture performs the following functions within the framework of Lithuanian legislation:
* Drafting legislation on cultural activities;
* Drafting concepts and programs supporting the development of various forms of art, and coordinating their implementation;
* Allocating funds to museums, libraries, and organizations that support visual, musical, and performance arts
* Coordinating activities on behalf of copyright and related rights;
* Coordinating state public information policy;
* Assuring the accounting of, and protection of, cultural values;
* Development and implementing international cultural programs, and drafting international agreements pertaining to these programs;
* Initiating regional cultural development strategies.

## Ministers

Christian Democratic Party  Democratic Labour Party  Labour Party  Liberal and Centre Union  Liberal Movement  Liberal Union  National Resurrection Party  Social Democratic Party  Independent
Part of Ministry of Education and Culture from 17 January 1990 to 31 March 1993 :
| Ministry of Culture |||||||
| Term | Minister | Party | Cabinet | Office | Office | Office |
| Term | Minister | Party | Cabinet | Start date | End date | Time in office |
| 1 | Dainius Trinkūnas (1931-1996) | Democratic Labour Party | Šleževičius | 31 March 1993 | 15 November 1994 | 1 year, 229 days |
| 2 | Juozas Nekrošius (1935-2020) | Democratic Labour Party | Šleževičius | 15 November 1994 | 19 March 1996 | 1 year, 125 days |
| 3 | Juozas Nekrošius (1935-2020) | Democratic Labour Party | Stankevičius | 19 March 1996 | 10 December 1996 | 266 days |
| 4 | Saulius Šaltenis (born 1945) | Christian Democratic Party | Vagnorius | 10 December 1996 | 10 June 1999 | 2 years, 182 days |
| 5 | Arūnas Bėkšta (born 1955) | Independent | Paksas | 10 June 1999 | 11 November 1999 | 154 days |
| 6 | Arūnas Bėkšta (born 1955) | Independent | Kubilius | 11 November 1999 | 9 November 2000 | 364 days |
| 7 | Gintautas Kėvišas (born 1954) | Liberal Union | Paksas | 9 November 2000 | 12 July 2001 | 245 days |
| 8 | Roma Dovydėnienė (born 1956) | Social Democratic Party | Brazauskas | 12 July 2001 | 14 December 2004 | 3 years, 155 days |
| 9 | Vladimiras Prudnikovas (born 1949) | Labour Party | Brazauskas | 14 December 2004 | 18 July 2006 | 1 year, 216 days |
| 10 | Jonas Jučas (born 1952) | Liberal and Centre Union | Kirkilas | 18 July 2006 | 9 December 2008 | 2 years, 144 days |
| 11 | Remigijus Vilkaitis (born 1950) | National Resurrection Party | Kubilius | 9 December 2008 | 1 July 2010 | 1 year, 204 days |
| 12 | Arūnas Gelūnas (born 1968) | Independent | Kubilius | 1 July 2010 | 13 December 2012 | 2 years, 165 days |
| 13 | Šarūnas Birutis (born 1961) | Labour Party | Butkevičius | 13 December 2012 | 13 December 2016 | 4 years, 0 days |
| 14 | Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson (born 1966) | Independent | Skvernelis | 13 December 2016 | 21 December 2018 | 2 years, 8 days |
| 15 | Mindaugas Kvietkauskas (born 1976) | Independent | Skvernelis | 21 December 2018 | 11 December 2020 | 1 year, 356 days |
| 16 | Simonas Kairys (born 1984) | Liberal Movement | Šimonytė | 11 December 2020 | Incumbent | 4 years, 94 days |